


An Exchange of Notes

by yaaan93



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, Furihata and Kuroko being the precious darlings that they are, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 09:26:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1813507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaaan93/pseuds/yaaan93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Furihata exchanges a series of poems with a secret admirer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Exchange of Notes

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted up on fanfiction.net, but I fixed a few words here and there.
> 
> The translation for the _Ogura Hyakunin Isshu_ , also known as the "Hundred Poems," were taken from [here](http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/hyakunin/macauley.html).

_Like the guard's fires_  
Kept at the imperial gateway--  
Burning through the night,  
Dull in ashes through the day--  
Is the love aglow in me.

 

Ah. 

 

It was the second time this week that Furihata Kouki happened upon a book he seemed to have missed as he was re-shelving the library books. Again, it was a book that he hadn’t heard of before. He flipped open the cover to find a slip of paper written inside with some text scribbled on top.

 

The note from Monday had read:

_I have met my love._  
When I compare this present  
With feelings of the past,  
My passion is now as if  
I have never loved before.

 

“Well then…” he murmured, slightly embarrassed as he believed he was reading something quite personal and not meant for his eyes to see. He decided to place the note back in the book in case someone came back for it.

 

Closing the book, he turned it over to view the call number on the spine and walked over to the designated aisle.

 

“Furihata-kun, Furihata-kun. Are you still here?” a voice suddenly called out in the room, startling him.

 

“K-Kuroko?! Yeah, I’m over here.” He replied, placing the book in middle shelf before walking back to the entrance of the library to meet the blue haired male.

 

“I got some extra tape from the staff room.” Kuroko said, holding up the roll of tape in his hand before walking over to the front desk. They had run out and the librarian asked them to get some more supplies. “It’ll be in the top drawer.”

 

“Okay, great! Oh yeah, Kuroko?" Furihata asked.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Uh, what was it again... 'Burning through the night, dull in ashes through the day is the love aglow in me’ This line… it’s from the “Hundred Poems”, isn’t it?”

 

"That... does sound familiar, yes.” Kuroko nodded, furrowing his brows. "But why?"

 

“Oh, uh, it was a note I found in one of the books. Seems like someone left it behind. Actually, I found a similar note quoting another one of the poems earlier on this week.”

 

“Is that so? What did it say?” Kuroko asked, looking intrigued.

 

“Haha, I can’t really remember… but the contents were similar, though -- about love, yearning, all that stuff.” He laughed, shoving the note back in his pocket and walking over to the check-out counter, grabbing his bag and coat from underneath. “You think these messages are aimed at someone in particular?”

 

“I don’t know,” the blue-haired boy paused, taking another glance at the note. “Maybe you should respond back.”

 

“Aw man, that’d be a bit embarrassing, don’t you think?” Furihata grinned, putting on his jacket.

 

“Well, it’s up to Furihata-kun. Are you going home now?”

 

“Yeah, I’ve got an assignment to work on. You’re not leaving yet, Kuroko?”

 

“I will in just a bit. Go ahead, I’ll lock up.”

 

“Well okay,” said Furihata, heading towards the door before turning back to glance at Kuroko. “Then, good night. See you tomorrow.”

 

Kuroko lifted his hand and gave a small wave, “… yeah, see you tomorrow.”

  

* * *

 

The hallways were empty now that school had long ended. The only other sounds of student life, Furihata noted, came from the remaining members of the baseball team who decided to stay back a bit longer for practice. Observing them from the window, he wondered if the sender or recipient of the notes came from the baseball team. After all, didn’t some people have a fetish for uniforms or something? Would that apply to basketball as well? He figured that if anyone on the team were to receive such confessions, it’d probably be someone like Izuki-senpai. But that might be a waste, because popular as he was with the girls, he _was_ an unfortunate pretty boy, puns and all.

 

That night before he went to bed, his mind ran over what Kuroko had suggested earlier about responding to the note.

 

He thought that perhaps he _could_ try writing back. A little excitement in his life wouldn’t hurt.

 

Then again, he wasn’t so sure. If there was someone who was earnestly trying to get their feelings through to the person they liked, who was he to impede on their goal? He knew what it was like to strive to claim the heart of someone you liked. That was what made him join the basketball team in the first place after all. However since joining the team, any ideas of romance in his life had been put on the back burner. It took a while for the feelings he held for that one girl to fade away, but she had gone to another high school and despite efforts on his end to keep the contact going, they had simply stopped at some point. He thought he should thank her, though, since he wouldn’t have met the others if he never joined the team.

 

 _“And if that note was meant for me?”_ the thought suddenly crossed his mind.

“Ahh, of course not!” he rolled over, face flush against his pillow.

 

“Kouki,” he heard his mother knocking at the door. “Did you say something?”

 

“Sorry, mom!” he said, lifting up his head. “Just talking to myself… again.”

 

 Furihata knew that it would be an unlikely possibility, but as he rolled over to look up at the ceiling, he felt a little anticipation build up in his chest for what could possibly happen the next time he had library duty.

 

\---

 

“Furihata-kun, I’m going to leave now. My grandmother wants me to pick something up for her on my way home.” said Kuroko as he finished taping and binding the damaged library books. “Can you take it from here?”

 

“Oh yeah, sure.” Furihata said, sorting the returned books by aisle on the table across from Kuroko. “Just leave the tape there, I’ll put it away before I leave.”

 

“Thanks,” Kuroko said, getting up to retrieve his belongings. “I’ll see you at practice tomorrow?”

 

 “Yeah, for sure,” the brunette turned to face the other and smiled, “Good night.”

 

“Good night.”

 

Furihata watched Kuroko’s retreating figure slide open the library door and close it behind him before resuming his duties. There was less work to do today so he supposed he could leave a bit earlier as well.

 

He heard the door opening again and turned around to see a girl standing at the doorway, clutching a book in her hand. He recognized her as the girl in the class down the hall from him. She was in the same class as Kuroko.

 

“Um, I was told to return a book here but,” she glanced around the room, “Sorry, but is it too late now?”

 

“O-oh, no! Not at all, just drop it in the bin to your left.” He quickly motioned to the box beside her. She was cute, and her sudden appearance brightened up his mundane task of managing and sorting out the books.

 

“Alright, thanks. Have a nice day!” she said, bowing before leaving the room.

 

 Furihata got up from his seat and walked over to pick up the book she left in the bin.

 

“Some translation of a foreign book, huh? I wonder if she’s into these–” his eyes widened, flipping open the cover as a sudden thought occurred to him.

 

There was nothing on the front page, and he continued to flip through the book, even shaking it out before snorting to himself.

 

“Wow Kouki, what were you thinking…” he chuckled as he walked back over to his sorting pile.

 

Around fifteen minutes later, he had finished sorting out the books and placing them back in their rightful spots. Grabbing his belongings behind the front counter, he pulled the library keys from his bag and was about to leave the room before he spotted a book in the return bin.

 

“What the…” he murmured, picking up the book. He could’ve sworn it was empty just now after he took the book the girl returned. Furihata flipped open the cover of the book–

 

And his heart sped up.

_It is for your sake_  
That I walk the fields in spring,  
Gathering green herbs,  
While my garment's hanging sleeves  
Are speckled with falling snow.

 

Smiling exasperatedly to himself, he thought that there was no way this could be happening. Was it for him or not? But who could have possibly left it there unnoticed? He hadn’t heard anyone come in after that girl… that girl! He had seen her leave though. So who could it be?

 

 _“_ Oh, what the hell.” he said, unzipping his school bag and ripping out a sheet from his notebook. “Pen, pen, where is it. Let’s see…”

 

Furihata had never necessarily been adept at _karuta_ , but a good portion of the “Hundred Poems” had been drilled into his head numerous times throughout the years by his various language teachers.

 

Which poem would be suitable for this situation?

 

“This should be okay,” he murmured, attempting to utilize his neatest penmanship as he wrote carefully on the sheet of paper. “And I’ll leave it…” he looked around the room.

 

What if that person couldn’t find the book? Since he didn’t know who had left the notes there was no guarantee in that that person would actually find his note.

 

“I guess I’ll just leave it here.” he replaced his note with the senders and placed the book back where he had found it. Slipping the other note into his bag, he scanned the room once more before heading to the door and locking up.

 

 _Over Mika's plain,_  
Gushing forth and flowing free,  
Is Izumi's stream.  
I do not know if we have met:  
Why, then, do I long for her

 

* * *

 

 

The chiming of the school bells, the screeching of chairs, and the sound of shuffling feet within the room and down the hall signified the end of school for the day. Furihata packed up his belongings and slung his bag over his shoulders, manoeuvring past his classmates as he made his way to the exit. He quickly weaved his way through the hallway which was getting more crowded as students began filing out of the classrooms. Narrowly dodging a group of girls who laughed as they played tag in the hallway, he made his way up the stairs towards the direction of the library.

When he reached the top, he heard a voice from down below.

“Furihata-kun.”

He turned around to see the owner of soft blue hair ascending the staircase.

“Hey Kuroko,” he said, waiting for the other to reach the top. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Kuroko said, finally catching up with the other male. “I think the librarian wants us to do inventory today.”

“Seriously?” Furihata groaned as they turned the corner, “I could’ve sworn we did that just the other day.”

“Yeah,” the other responded, eyebrows furrowing as the brunette began to pick up his pace when they inched closer to the library. “Are you in a rush, Furihata-kun?”

“Ahaha, yeah a bit.” Furihata laughed, “I just wanna check something.”

Furihata slid the door open and hurried over to the return bin. Sure enough, the book from yesterday had been replaced with a title he had never seen before. He flipped open the cover and grinned, eyes brightening at the sight.

“Furihata-kun?” Kuroko asked, peering over the counter.

“Kuroko, look!” Furihata held up the piece of paper. “Yesterday after you left… right before I locked up I thought I had sorted everything out. But then someone left the book here,” he motioned to the bin. “And so I flipped open the book and what do I find? Another note! So I decided to write back, just to see what would happen . And look!” he took a deep breath and began to read the note out loud.

 _“Bamboo growing_  
Among the tangled reeds  
Like my hidden love:  
But it is too much to bear  
That I still love her so.”

“I know you were probably kidding when you said I should write something back, and I may be a bit silly thinking this because hey – who would write to _me_? But it wouldn’t hurt to try… so yeah, haha!” Furihata was getting more flustered through his explanation, and his use of excessive hand gestures was not helping.

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit, Furihata-kun.” Kuroko smiled at him. “You have plenty of merits, and who knows. These notes could very well be directed at you.”

Furihata couldn’t help but flush at the comment as Kuroko’s compliment came unexpected. Kuroko did not often hand out such praise.

“Oh man, don’t say stuff like that,” he laughed.

“I mean it though,” Kuroko replied before reaching over and taking the note from Furihata and scanning it over. “Do you have any idea who the sender might be?”

“Hmm, well there was this girl who came in yesterday to return a book. I did some snooping this morning and I think her name was Asada, from your class?” he said, sitting down and logging into the library’s system.

“Asada Emi-san? And you think it was her?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t _know_ if it was her. She kind of left before I found the book so it’s a tad bit impossible _but_ …” he scanned the barcode of the book to check it back in. “I don’t know, you never know right?” he grinned.

“Right.” Kuroko said, walking over to Furihata’s side and placing the note back beside him. “Would you be interested if it were Asada-san?”

“I don’t know. I mean, she seems nice enough, so maybe. And she’s cute. What’s she like, Kuroko?”

“… I don’t talk to her that often, so unfortunately I don’t know.”

“Ah, right… sorry.” He stood up and patted Kuroko on the back. He had forgotten about the other’s lack of presence in class. And was it his imagination or did Kuroko’s back just stiffen upon contact?

“But she does seem to be a nice person, from the conversations I overhear in class.” Kuroko said, opening the drawers to pull out some forms.

“Hm,” Furihata wondered, swiveling right and left on the chair. How should he respond again? “Hey, do you remember any more lines from the“Hundred Poems?” What should I reply with?”

“I don’t think it would be fair for the recipient if I were to decide on that, Furihata-kun.” Kuroko said, not looking up from the forms. “Write whatever you think is right.”

“Huh, okay.” Furihata thought for a bit before grabbing a sheet of scrap paper from the counter.

 

 _From Tsukuba's peak_  
Falling waters have become  
Mina's still, full flow:  
So my love has grown to be  
Like the river's quiet deeps.

\---

The days went on and Furihata continued exchanging notes with his supposed mysterious admirer. He thought it sounded silly but he believed he could feel emotion pouring out from each character written on the notes, and day by day he grew more attached to the nameless figure he had conjured up in his mind. Each time he had library duty, Furihata had looked forward to another book he had never heard of before placed in the return bin.

“How’s Asada-san doing recently?” said Furihata one day as he and Kuroko walked home from practice. It was just the two of them as everyone else had prior obligations to attend to. “I mean, if you heard anything or something… if she’s mentioned someone she _likes_ , I don’t know.”

“Have you taken a liking to her?” Kuroko said, looking straight ahead.

Furihata had noticed that recently, there were times when Kuroko would not look at him while speaking. It had been unusual as Kuroko was always polite when engaging in conversation with others, always trying his best, at least, to maintain eye contact.

“Well,” he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was just wondering.” And he was just wondering. Although it would be very nice if Asada-san did send him those notes, he didn’t exactly believe that she did.

“You still think she sent those notes?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t exactly have a list I can draw suspects from so I guess you can call her my only lead.”

“I see.” said Kuroko before he stopped walking. “Sorry Furihata-kun, I just remembered that Nigou ran out of shampoo at home. I need to drop by the pet store and pick some up for him. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh okay. See you.” Furihata turned and waved as Kuroko began walking in the opposite direction.

\---

The next day when Furihata got to the library to begin his duties, the first thing he did was check the return bin. It had become routine within these past few weeks. He frowned, however, seeing that the bin was empty today. Not even a book from one of the other students was left in the box.

 _“Maybe they’re sick today…”_ he thought, frowning. _“I hope they’re okay.”_

But the days passed and those days turned into weeks, yet the box still remained empty.

Furihata had also recently seen Asada-san leaving the school with a certain Gotou from his class, her arms linked with his.

A bit disappointed, Furihata chided himself for getting his hopes up. Of course it wouldn’t be her. But then who could it possibly be? And why hadn’t that someone written anything back to Furihata? Was he too slow? Did they figure that he was probably not worth their time? He was frustrated as his self-doubts began to accumulate one by one in his head. Yeah, he supposed he didn’t particularly need romance in his life at this point, but somewhere in his mind he had hoped for some sort of _change_.

 

Wanting to give it one last go, Furihata scribbled a note and placed it in a book he brought from home, leaving it in the bin. Assuming that that person was a library frequenter, he hoped that they would eventually come back and find his note.

 

 _Just because she said,_  
"In a moment I will come,"  
I've awaited her  
Until the moon of daybreak,  
In the long month, has appeared

But a week had passed and the book remained there. Apparently his schoolmates were nice enough to not to steal a book that wasn’t theirs. The rest of the library committee were also told not to touch the book since it was his.

 

He decided to write another note. And yes, _this_ time would be the last.

 

 _Even for a time_  
Short as a piece of the reeds  
In Naniwa's marsh,  
We must never meet again:  
Is this what you are asking me?

 “What are you doing, Furihata-kun?” Kuroko had come around the desk after looking for a book to take out himself.

Wedging the newly written note between the cover and first page of the book, Furihata placed the book on the counter before responding.

“Just testing my luck.”

“Oh, that note exchange, I presume? How’re you doing with that?”

“Well,” Furihata began, laughing a bit. “I guess it wasn’t Asada-san after all. Oops. And I haven’t heard anything back from that person so I just left them another note even if they didn’t respond to my last one…”

 

“You look kind of disappointed.” Kuroko remarked, glancing at the male’s face before scanning his book with a _beep_ and placing it in his bag.

 

“Well yeah, I guess it’s pretty disappointing. That person probably gave up… or maybe they were all, ‘oh my god, I got the wrong person!’ and the notes weren’t actually _meant_ for me.” He sighed, propping up his head with his fist.

 

“Somehow I don’t think that’s the case,” Kuroko reassured. He began to head back to the shelves before stopping and turning back around to face Furihata. “But if this person were to respond, Furihata-kun, and if for sure you knew these notes were meant for you, what would you do?”

 

“I dunno. I’d like to find out who it is, though– if I ever do.”

 

“I see. And… what if they turned out to be a complete and utter disappointment?”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Furihata wondered why Kuroko was saying this. Normally the reserved male wouldn’t use such harsh words to describe other people.

 

“What if it were someone with a horrible personality? A school bully?” he paused, “What if it wasn’t a girl?”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“What if it wasn’t a girl who sent those notes?”

 

“Well,” Furihata hesitated, thinking for a bit. “Honestly I hadn’t considered that, but I guess it’d be alright. I– wait, Kuroko.” The brunette raised an eyebrow. “Do you know something I don’t? Do you know if this person’s a guy or not?”

 

“I can’t say that I do.” said Kuroko, shaking his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by those words. I was just wondering.”

 

 “Oh, alright then.” said Furihata, not quite believing the other. Pushing his doubts to the side, he replied, “Well I don’t know. I mean if they put that much effort and detail into wooing someone, I’m thinking that they can’t be all _that_ bad, right? And anyway, I’d like to think that I’m pretty open-minded, Kuroko. It takes guts to start an initiative like this. I’ll really appreciate the effort, no matter who or what they are.

 

“… Is that so?” Was all Kuroko could say before laughing quietly to himself.

 

“Huh? What’s so funny Kuroko?” asked Furihata, not sure what to make of the other’s reaction. “Are you making of me?”

 

“No,” Kuroko said slowly before looking at Furihata and smiling. “I was thinking that you’re a good person, Furihata-kun. That’s all.”

 

* * *

 

 

A few days later, Furihata found that his book had gone missing from the return bin and replaced with another book. Feeling a sudden sense of eagerness coursing through his body, he carefully flipped open the cover.

 

There was nothing.

 

But then he realized that the book he held in his hands was not Japanese. It was in English, which meant that he had opened the book on the wrong side. Flipping over the book and taking a deep breath, he lifted the cover and began to laugh.

 

“Oh man,” he chuckled, feeling mentally drained.

 

Within the covers of the book was a note, one which read:

 

 _Like Michinoku prints_  
Of the tangled leaves of ferns,  
It is because of you  
That I have become confused;  
But my love for you remains.

It was at this point when Furihata _knew_ he couldn’t let this exchange slip idly by once again. Not when he finally found the connection with his “beloved” person once more. These past months had been more exhausting than he thought. He had developed feelings akin to pain and yearning– though not quite– all for a person whose name and face he hadn’t even known. He wanted to meet this person, to thank them for caring about him enough to go through all of this trouble for him.

Sifting through his bag, he found a novelty notepad his mother had given him. It was in the shape of a Japanese maple. This was perfect, because this time was special. Carefully, he wrote neater than ever before:

 _Truly, this is where_  
Travelers who go or come  
Over parting ways--  
Friends or strangers--all must meet:  
The gate of "Meeting Hill."

Flipping the paper over, he wrote _“Monday the 12 th, 4:00 P.M. Infront of the school gates.”_

 

* * *

 

 

And Monday could not come any sooner.

 

Furihata woke up that morning just a few minutes before his alarm rang. Within just mere seconds of opening his eyes, his memory flooded back of what he had to do to later on that day. He felt slightly anxious, wanting to stay in bed in fear of actually facing the person that had been weighing down his mind for the past few months, but the excitement that urged him on won over instead as he rose from bed and got ready for school.

 

In class, the clock ticked by at an excruciatingly slow rate. What felt like at least fifteen minutes for Furihata turned out to be a mere five as he allowed himself to glance at the clock once more. Clicking his pen impatiently, he glanced out the window, over the school yard, and narrowed his gaze on the gates. Should he get there before the scheduled time, right on time, or should he remain hidden beforehand to scout out any potential suspects? He supposed there was no use worrying about it now. He decided to just go for the flow and make a decision when 4:00PM came around.

 

* * *

 

 

In the end, Furihata decided that since it was he that was calling the other party out, he should just go to the gates first out of common courtesy.

 

The sound of his wet footsteps sounded within the empty school yard as walked towards the main entrance, avoiding puddles along the way. It had rained heavily the night before and he was slightly worried that the weather would get in the way of his plans. Pulling out his phone and checking his reflection in the screen, he made sure to quickly pat away any kinks he had in his hair. He had wanted to look presentable at the very least.

 

Reaching the entrance, he leaned back against the brick wall and waited. He glanced again at the screen of his phone, this time to check the time. It was 3:55PM, and he still had five minutes to go.

 

He wondered if they would come, or if this was all an elaborate ploy by his schoolmates to poke fun at the first year. Or, as he had thought many times before, it could be some misunderstanding in which his admirer would look upon his face with utmost horror as they realized that he was, in fact, not the person they thought they had been exchanging poetry with for the past few months.

 

But by this point, Furihata didn’t care anymore. What mattered was that he was there, that he had taken the final step. If it were a mistake, he’d try to make it work out somehow, be it a simple friendship or otherwise.

 

Suddenly, he heard voices coming from within the schoolyard, coming closer to the entrance. He peeked over to find that it was Seirin’s light and shadow duo.

 

Kagami seemed to have spotted him first and ran over to him, ahead of Kuroko.

 

“Oi, Furihata. Still haven’t gone home yet? You waiting for someone or something?” the red head asked.

 

“I guess you could say that,” Furihata replied, a little embarrassed. He looked down and kicked a pebble onto the roadside. “You guys heading home?”

 

“Nah, I’m gonna go check out some shoes downtown. Wanna join us?” asked Kagami.

 

“No, I’m good. Thanks.”

 

“Actually Kagami-kun,” began Kuroko who had finally caught up with them. “I’d like to talk to Furihata-kun for a bit. You go ahead.”

 

“Huh, well okay.” replied the other, re-adjusting his school bag on his shoulder. “Well let me know if anything comes up. Later, guys.” he waved a bit before turning around and walking off.

 

Now it was just the two of them and a momentary silence passed between both males.

 

“You said you had something you wanted to talk about, Kuroko?” Furihata said, checking the time once again. It was 4:00PM.

 

“Yes,” the other male began as he moved over to Furihata’s right, joining him against the wall. “Furihata-kun is waiting for that person?”

 

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I said we’d meet here at four but—”

 

“Then,” Kuroko interrupted him, voice slightly strained. “Um,as Mount Arima sends its rustling winds across Ina’s bamboo plains—”

 

“Sorry, what?” Furihata furrowed his brows, turning to face the other male whose gaze had been turned upward. Apparently there was something really interesting in the sky.

 

Kuroko blinked hard before taking a deep breath and shifting to face Furihata.

 

“As Mount Arima sends its rustling winds across Ina’s bamboo plains, I will be just as steadfast – and never will forget you.’” Kuroko said, looking at him directly in the eye.

 

“Kuroko?”

 

“I’m sorry,” Kuroko began, looking away again with the most minute hint of colour dusting his cheeks and ears. It had nearly gone undetected. “I’m sorry, what I said just now… it was a stupid idea. It sounded better in my head.”

 

“No, don’t apologize. I just don’t… why are you apologizing?” he frowned. Kuroko was just two centimeters shorter than he was but at this moment he was looking quite small and vulnerable.

 

“It’s four – no, it was four o’clock, Furihata-kun.”

 

“What do you…”

 

And that was when the events that had transpired within the past few weeks clicked together. The gears were now shifting into place, creating a detailed composite within Furihata’s mind. Kuroko’s awkward and distant behaviour, Asada-san, and his total belief in Furihata’s good character. _It was four o’ clock_.

 

“Don’t tell me Kuroko… you sent those notes?” Furihata drawled out hesitantly, not wanting to make a mistake.

 

There was a slight pause before Kuroko replied.

 

“It seems that Furihata-kun has figured it out.” He smiled a bit, looking up at the other. “Actually, I was thinking that if you weren’t going to show up, then I would just accompany Kagami-kun downtown but then I saw you…”

 

“Then, Kuroko, you…” Furihata tried to keep calm and handle the situation as maturely as possible.

 

“Yes, Furihata-kun. I like you. I like you in _that_ way.”

 

“Oh.”

 

The sun was beginning to set now, casting its warm rays between the two lone figures standing next to the school entrance. And awkward silence filled the air as neither person was sure of what to say. Furihata looked down at his feet as Kuroko was staring expectantly at him.

 

“Actually,” Kuroko spoke up, breaking the silence. “I will admit that the first two notes were not from me.”

 

“Wait, seriously? Then who? And why’d you join in on the exchange then?” Furihata asked.

 

“I don’t know who sent it. I just thought that this would be a good opportunity and method to get my feelings across. And also because I knew you’d want to write back, and I… I didn’t want Furihata-kun responding back to another person’s notes.” Kuroko admitted.

 

“Oh! Well, I see… yeah. Um, Kuroko if you don’t mind, could I ask you some questions now?”

 

“Sure, go ahead.”

 

“Alright, well then, just _how_ did you do it? I mean I’m pretty sure the first few times I was actually _in_ the room. I could’ve sworn you had to run errands on those days and I saw you leave the room too.

 

“Ah, I didn’t particularly have any plans the day you met Asada-san. I was going to ask the first classmate I saw to return a book for me as a favour, and it just so happened I passed her by chance. Of course, I managed to slip in while you were distracted with your conversation. The notes I left after that came as a result of misdirection.”

 

“Of course, sorry I shouldn’t have bothered asking.” Furihata laughed before giving the other a serious look. “Wait, I thought you said you didn’t know her that well.”

 

“I apologize since I may have extended the truth there as well. We are paired up in class from time to time due to our seating arrangements. I lied because I didn’t want Furihata-kun to ask for more details on her.” Kuroko confessed, deciding that if he were to tell the truth, now would be the best time to say all of it.

 

 “Then, all those times I mentioned Asada-san, you…”

 

“Ah,” Kuroko frowned, quickly glancing to the side before looking at Furihata once more. “Yes, I would be lying if I said that it hadn’t bothered me. I figured I had better stop writing those notes if you kept writing back with Asada-san in mind. But don’t mind it.” He smiled up at him.

 

Furihata felt awful. He must have looked like such an idiot going on about Asada-san this, Asada-san that. Not only that, but Kuroko went along with the whole thing despite his desire to do the exact opposite.

 

“I’m sorry Kuroko!” Furihata stammered, taking a few steps towards Kuroko before bowing low. “If I had known –“

 

“Furihata-kun,” Kuroko said softly, eyes widening.

 

“… and you just—!“

 

“Furihata-kun.” Kuroko repeated a bit more loudly before taking a step forward and crouching down so that he could look up at Furihata. He frowned again. He wanted to confess, and wanted the other to understand his feelings and the entirety of his actions. What he did _not_ want, however, was for Furihata to feel bad about his very reasonable response to the situation. Wrapping his left arm around his knees, he hesitantly raised his right hand to touch the other’s cheek. He immediately regretted the action as the sudden contact made the brunette stumble backwards, nearly tripping.

 

Furihata felt a twinge of guilt override his system as he looked at the other male who had remained crouching on the ground. He hadn’t seen Kuroko this lost since their first match with Touou, or since their last match with Rakuzan at the Winter Cup. Heck, this was the first time he saw Kuroko looking like _this_ in a situation related outside of basketball. So Furihata did what he believed to be the only thing he could do, which was to walk forward and mimic Kuroko’s position.

 

“I’m sorry Furihata-kun,” Kuroko murmured, and the other knew from his tone of voice that he was trying to keep composure and look as stoic as he normally did. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

 

“Oh, no…” Furihata paused a bit, glancing at Kuroko’s figure with his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. The two remained silent until Furihata slowly reached out and grabbed both of Kuroko’s hands, unwinding them from their current position. Taking a deep breath, he began to pull Kuroko’s hands towards him and held them awkwardly in his own. “I didn’t mean to react like that. I was just a bit shocked at your touch, that’s all.” His fingers squeezed Kuroko’s. “So please, don’t apologize.

 

“Then… Furihata-kun shouldn’t have apologized either.” Kuroko said slowly, glancing at the fingers that were now loosely clamped over his. Furihata’s hands were clammy and warm. Kuroko knew that the other was nervous in regards to the situation, but the fact that he was still able to treat Kuroko with such kindness made the fondness for him in his heart swell. “There’s no way you could’ve possibly known, so you don’t need to apologize.”

 

More silence accompanied the gap in conversation between the two before Furihata spoke up.

 

“Honestly,” he began. “I don’t know how to respond to this, Kuroko. I never exactly saw you in that way, you know?”

 

“… Yes, I know. That’s why—”

 

“Just hear me out before you say anything.” Furihata said as he let go of his hands. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit shocked. But if you’re worried about whether I feel disgusted or not – well remember when I said that regardless of who it was, that they had done something amazing and I just couldn’t brush their feelings off like that?”

 

Kuroko nodded.

 

“Well, yeah. That’s how I feel right now. I mean, surprisingly I’m pretty happy that it’s you Kuroko. You’re a cool guy, one who’s saved our team a countless amount of times, a great partner to have during library committee duties, and basically just someone who I can always confide in. So thanks, I guess. Thanks for going through all this effort for a plain old guy like me, who barely gets to play in matches.”

 

“Thank you, Furihata-kun.” Kuroko said, the tiniest of smiles creeping up on his face. “But I’m afraid I’m going to have to correct you yet again. You may not get your time to shine often in matches but the effort not only you, but Kawahara-kun and Fukuda-kun exert during practice would hardly count as nothing.”

 

“Kuroko…” he knew that Kuroko and the others did not think anything bad of their lack of play during matches, but to hear it directly from one of Seirin’s starters made him very happy. “But despite that, I’m an average player at best, and my marks aren’t particularly spectacular. This face of mine,” he gestured to his cheek, “Well again, yeah, it’s pretty self-explanatory. So why me?”

 

“… I’m not sure where to start or what to say.” Kuroko murmured before placing a hand on Furihata’s shoulder. “I said this the other day too, but Furihata-kun is very kind. You’re a good person, you work hard, and you’re reliable. I also think Furihata-kun is very adorable.” He took his hand away.  “And above all, Furihata-kun is Furihata-kun. I really like you for everything that you are.”

 

Furihata could not help but sputter at Kuroko’s workds as he felt his cheeks glowing red. Having such a blunt confession coming from someone like Kuroko was really something.

 

He cleared his throat and began, “I-I, um, I didn’t know that! Thank you, Kuroko. But I’m sorry.”

 

And the look on Kuroko’s face at that moment made him want to take back his words, but he continued.

 

“Wait, Kuroko, it’s not what you think. I meant to say, I’m sorry that I can’t give you an answer right now.” Clapping his hands together, he begged, “Please give me a bit longer to respond! I want to think things over carefully ‘cause you’re one of my best friends, Kuroko. You’re someone special to me, so… I’ll make this work somehow, so please give me some time!”

 

This time is was Kuroko’s turn to blush, to which Furihata admitted was a rather endearing sight as a soft rose hue graced the former’s usually pale demeanor. The bluenette’s lips curved up into a smile, and one that reached his eyes in a way that made Furihata’s chest tighten.

 

“Thank you, Furihata-kun. I’m glad I fell for you.”


End file.
